Report: Tax Plan Will Raise Taxes On Half Of Americans

A nonpartisan analysis has found that the latest Republican tax legislation would raise taxes for one-half of Americans over the next decade. While President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans have asserted their tax plan was designed to boost the middle class, the analysis found that its benefits would primarily go to the wealthiest Americans and corporations.

On Nov. 20, the Tax Policy Center released its analysis of the Senate Republican tax bill. The group found that 9 percent of taxpayers would pay higher levies in 2019 if the legislation was signed into law while 50 percent of Americans would be paying higher taxes by 2027 than they would under the current tax code, The Associated Press reports.

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The analysis estimated that one-half of Americans would face higher tax bills by 2027 because the GOP bill ends individual tax cuts by 2026 while permanently preserving cuts to the corporate tax rate.

TPC concluded that the immediate benefits of the tax bill would primarily go to wealthier Americans. While income earners who make $25,000 or less per year would see a 0.3 percent reduction to their tax bill, those making $746,000 or more annually would receive a 2.2 percent cut.

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The analysis also projected a less rosy picture of economic growth from the Senate Republican tax proposal. While the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the tax bill would generate $1.5 trillion in economic growth by 2027, TPC estimated that the bill would only spur $169 billion in growth over the same period.

On Nov. 21, the Senate Finance Committee released the full text of the GOP tax plan, scheduling it for a vote on Dec. 1. Senior Fellow William Galston of the Brookings Institution noted that Senate Republicans were pushing to pass their bill at a historically fast pace.

"'Unusually fast' understates how remarkable this legislative process is," Galston told Bloomberg. "One reason these bills are going through so quickly is they're primarily about tax cuts and only secondarily about tax reform."

On Nov. 20, Trump signaled during a Cabinet meeting that he wanted to sign the GOP tax proposal into law before the end of December 2017.

"We're going to give the American people a huge tax cut for Christmas -- hopefully that will be a great, big, beautiful Christmas present," Trump said.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have blasted the tax bill, asserting it would raise taxes on low-income Americans and the middle class while cutting levies for big business and the rich.

"Middle-class Americans will ultimately see a tax hike under Republicans' plan while corporate sponsors line their own pockets with multitrillion-dollar giveaways," said Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, touting the TPC analysis.

Antonia Ferrier, spokesperson for Republican Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, pointed to an analysis conducted by the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation as evidence the GOP tax bill would be an economic boon. The Tax Foundation projected the legislation would create nearly 1 million new jobs and spur $1.3 trillion in growth over a decade.

"The Tax Foundation has laid out in unambiguous terms how critical the Senate tax bill is to hard-working families and job creators," Ferrier said in a statement.

Senate Republicans are attempting to pass their tax bill through budget reconciliation, which would only require a simple majority. Republicans currently occupy 52 Senate seats and need 50 votes to pass the legislation. GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Bob Corker of Tennessee, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, John McCain of Arizona and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have all expressed misgivings with the tax bill, according to CNN.